Police: Woman raped in her Willows home, suspect at large

WILLOWS &GT;&GT; Police say a woman was raped Wednesday morning while she was at her home in the 400 block of North Butte Street.

At approximately 6:48 a.m., officers responded to the home of an unidentified woman who had just reported an alleged rape, according to a press release from the Willows Police Department.

The woman stated a white male armed with a handgun forced his way into her home and sexually assaulted her, Police Chief Jason Dahl told the Enterprise-Record. The suspect, who was last seen wearing blue jeans and a sweatshirt, left the residence before the woman was able to call police.

Officers searched for the man but were unable to find him.

Dahl said there are no further descriptions of the suspect.

The woman was transported to Enloe Medical Center in Chico to be treated for her injuries and examined, but has since been released, Dahl said.

At the time of the assault, the woman and her baby, whose age is unknown, were the only people inside the home, the chief said.

Willows police officers collected evidence from the scene and will continue to investigate.

Detectives are investigating thoroughly and trying to identify a suspect, Dahl said. Any kind of assault, especially when a weapon is involved, is taken very seriously.

There haven't been any cases similar to this incident recently and police don't suspect it was a random attack, Dahl said.

"We don't want people to panic," he said.

Police Chief Jason Dahl said he could not provide more details due to the ongoing investigation.

Anyone with any information pertaining to this case is asked to contact Dahl at 934-3456.